I bought my first PC in 1995. Of course, the first game I bought with it was the original Need for Speed. It was really cool. I would look at the clock and realize it was 4 am, when I had to be at work at 7 am. I also bought Papyrus Indycar Racing 2 (ICR2). It was awesome as well. I was using a joystick. I bought my first wheel (Thrustmaster T2) in 1996. That summer, General Motors went on strike, and beings I worked for an automotive parts manufacturer, we cut down to very minimum production. I was one of the last to be temporarily laid-off. Since my newly married to wife was working, we lived in a mobile home, and didn't yet have children, there wasn't much for me to do being at home for a month. That is when I seriously got into the racing games. I started racing full race length seasons with ICR2 and didn't go anywhere much. During the day, I kept the place clean and raced all day. I would then cook a crappy dinner for the wife and we would watch movies. I am a night person, so I would often stay up late racing again. I did this for a month. It had been a while since I actually went out in the vehicle and driven anywhere. I jumped in the truck to run to the store once after all that PC racing. Never even realized it, looked down and I'm doing like 110 mph down the road, LOL. I'm not a slow, speed limit driver to begin with, but it was just purely accidental that I was cruising along at 110, in a 4x4 truck at that.
Ever since I've gotten my driver's license, I've been addicted to driving. I love driving. Hate being a passenger. I live out in the middle of nowhere with fantastic country roads. Hilly and curvey. In college, a friend and I raced out on the country roads all the time. We drove fast even when we weren't racing. This friend of mine is the type of guy who can hardly keep the car on the road driving the speedlimit. But he is the only person in the world I would be comfortable sitting in the passenger seat with no control over the car while he was driving at 110-130-150 mph.
I still love driving. I still love "spirited" driving. Although, the driving isn't all that "spirited" anymore because I'm now older and have children of my own. I also now drive a 4x4 truck rather than the little light 4 banger car I use to have back in college.